Home Office takes down defective ‘passport checker’ after causing travel chaos

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Home Office has taken down its flawed online passport check service after it generated thousands of false negatives for children’s travel documents. A London family hoping for a summer holiday in Cyprus were given spectacular “false negatives” for two of their children’s passports – even though they are valid for travel to anywhere in the EU until 24 May and 24 July next year. You’ll be able to use the service later.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “The passport checker is intended as a guide to help customers decide whether they need to renew their passport for travel to Europe. As a result, children’s passports with an expiry date in late 2022 yielded many false negatives – with the warning that they were not valid for travel in the EU triggering many unnecessary dashes to renew.